Category: Cruise Planning

ROYAL CARIBBEAN MAKES 2021 CHANGES


Today, Royal Caribbean announced updates to their summer 2021 deployment as a result of market research and valuable feedback that they have received from their guests.  These unrivaled itineraries, combined with Royal Caribbean’s award-winning ships, are guaranteed to deliver an unforgettable vacation.
With new options in Europe and additional island time in the Caribbean, this new deployment line-up opens the door for bucket-list adventures — both near and far! 
Reintroducing a desirable Southern Caribbean summer cruise from San Juan and a first-ever season of shorter Mediterranean cruises from Barcelona, the choices are endless. Highlights of Royal Caribbean’s updated 2021 summer season include:
Europe
Adventure of the Seas, which was previously scheduled to sail from Copenhagen and Stockholm, will head to Barcelona offering a mix of 4- and 5-night short Mediterranean itineraries to historic destinations like La Spezia and Rome, Italy; Ajaccio, Nice and Marseille, France; and Palma and Ibiza, Spain. A full season of shorter Mediterranean cruises from Barcelona is a brand first!
Jewel of the Seas, originally planned to homeport in Amsterdam and Barcelona, will now sail from Copenhagen and Stockholm on 7-night cruises calling on Northern Europe’s picturesque ports of Helsinki, Finland; Tallinn, Estonia; and Visby, Sweden.
Caribbean
Independence of the Seas, originally sailing from Fort Lauderdale offering 3- and 4-night cruises, will now make the neighboring city of Miami her home for the summer season and offer a combination of 6- and 8-night cruises to the Southern and Western Caribbean, visiting far-flung islands including Aruba and Curacao.
Vision of the Seas, previously planned to sail from Barcelona, will sail from San Juan, offering a new summer program from the island of enchantment. She will offer 7-night Southern Caribbean itineraries to exotic destinations
like Philipsburg, St. Maarten; Basseterre, St. Kitts and Nevis; St. John’s, Antigua; Castries, St. Lucia; and Bridgetown, Barbados.
Brilliance of the Seas, will stay in Tampa for the summer. She will sail 4-, 5- and 7-night cruises to the Caribbean, elevating Caribbean summer sailings from Florida’s west coast.
Updates listed below:

CANADA EXTENDS BORDER CLOSURE | ALASKA SEASON CANCELLED

Well it looks like the hopes of an Alaska or Canada/New England cruise this summer has come to an end.   Canadian authorities have officially cancelled the rest of the 2020 cruise season in Canadian waters due to the Covid-19 pandemic.   They are banning any ships with overnight accommodations that carry more than 100 passengers from operating in Canadian waters until October 31, 2020.

The ban of cruise ships in Canadian waters makes Alaska itineraries impossible due to the law stating any foreign flagged ship that sails from the a US port must make a stop at a foreign port before returning to the US.

This announcement came from Minister of Transport Marc Gareau as he stated “Our Government is committed to protecting Canadians, particularly during these challenging times. It is for that reason I am announcing updated measures for cruise ships and other passenger vessels in Canada, which includes prohibiting larger cruise ships from operating in Canadian waters until October 31, 2020”. 

Canada is taking the suspensions very seriously in hopes that the Covid-19 virus does not continue to spread.

So what does this mean for all the cruise lines….

It looks like Princess & Holland America have already made the decision before the announcement came out. Princess had cancelled all Alaska and New England/Canada sailings through summer of 2020.

Holland America went a little further with cancelling all Alaska, Canada/New England and even Europe itineraries through the rest of the year in 2020.  Now this does not surprise me due to facts showing that the Covid-19 tends to take a little more of a toll on the elderly and Holland Ameria is known for having an older demographic crowd.

Carnival has also taken down all of their Alaska sailings through the rest of the summer. 

So it looks like Royal and NCL were holding out until the end and even booking cruises for July when it was announced prior to this that the Canadian authorities had closed the borders through July 31st.  So now with this announcement extending the border closure in Canada through Oct 31st 2020, hopefully we will be seeing some more cancellations with Royal, Celebrity and NCL possibly sometime this coming week.

This has obviously taken a big hit on the Canadian and Alaskan economies for 2020 as the summer and fall seasons are their high tourist seasons. Many people have re-booked for 2021, and I’m sure their economy is looking forward to all the tourists that will be visiting Canada and Aalaska next year in 2021.

Sharon Asmus

DISNEY CRUISE LINE EXTENDS SUSPENSION…

Disney Cruise Line extends cancellations through July 28, 2020.

In light of this cancellation, Disney Cruise Line is offering their guests who have paid in full the choice of a 125% future cruise credit to be used for a future sailing within 15 months of their original sail date, or a full refund. The credit has been automatically added to their account. 
For guests who have not paid in full, Disney Cruise Line will be automatically refunding any payment made toward their booking. This refund will be processed back to the original form of payment but may be delayed due to the high volume.

Impacted departures include:

Disney Dream

  • 6/21 – 5-Night Bahamas
  • 6/26 – 5-Night Bahamas
  • 7/1 – 4-Night Bahamas
  • 7/5 – 5-Night Bahamas
  • 7/10 – 3-Night Bahamas
  • 7/13 – 4-Night Bahamas
  • 7/17 – 3-Night Bahamas
  • 7/20 – 4-Night Bahamas
  • 7/24 – 3-Night Bahamas
  • 7/27 – 4-Night Bahamas

Disney Fantasy 

  • 6/20 – 7-Night Western Caribbean
  • 6/27 – 9-Night Southern Caribbean
  • 7/6 – 5-Night Western Caribbean
  • 7/11 – 7-Night Eastern Caribbean
  • 7/18 – 7-Night Western Caribbean
  • 7/25 – 7-Night Eastern Caribbean 

Disney Magic

  • 7/13 – 5-Night Mediterranean 
  • 7/18 – 7-Night Western Europe 
  • 7/25 – 11-Night Northern Europe  

Disney Wonder

  • 7/6 – 7-Night Alaska
  • 7/13 – 7-Night Alaska
  • 7/20 – 7-Night Alaska
  • 7/27 – 7-Night Alaska

Adventures by Disney Cruise Packages

  • 7/13 – 5-Night Mediterranean Adventures by Disney Cruise Package
  • 7/25 – 11-Night Northern Europe Adventures by Disney Cruise Package
  • 7/6 – 7-Night Alaskan Wonders Adventures by Disney Cruise Package
  • 7/13 – 7-Night Alaskan Wonders Adventures by Disney Cruise Package
  • 7/27 – 7-Night Alaskan Wonders Adventures by Disney Cruise Package

DISNEY CRUISE LINE CONTINUES SUSPENSIONS

Disney Cruise Line suspends sailings of Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy through June 18, 2020 and Disney Magic through July 2, 2020.

In light of this cancellation, Disney Cruise Line is offering their guests the choice of a 125% future cruise credit to be used for a future sailing within 15 months of their original sail date, or a full refund. The credit has been automatically added to their account. 

The cancellation of the three Disney Magic sailings includes Adventures by Disney Cruise Packages booked in conjunction with these cruises. Guests on these sailings will be notified by SeaMail of the cruise cancellation and will automatically receive a refund for all components, including the Adventures by Disney Cruise Package. There is no action needed on their part, as we are advising in the SeaMail that the Adventures by Disney component has been cancelled and will be included in their refund.

Sailings impacted…

Disney Dream

  • 4-Night Bahamas from Port Canaveral 5/18
  • 3-Night Bahamas from Port Canaveral 5/22
  • 4-Night Bahamas from Port Canaveral 5/25
  • 3-Night Bahamas from Port Canaveral 5/29
  • 4-Night Bahamas from Port Canaveral 6/1
  • 3-Night Bahamas from Port Canaveral 6/5
  • 4-Night Bahamas from Port Canaveral 6/8
  • 5-Night Bahamas from Port Canaveral 6/12
  • 4-Night Bahamas from Port Canaveral 6/17


Disney Fantasy

  • 7-Night Western Caribbean 5/23
  • 7-Night Eastern Caribbean 5/30
  • 7-Night Western Caribbean 6/6
  • 7-Night Eastern Caribbean 6/13


Disney Magic

  • 9-Night Mediterranean with Greek Isles 6/13
  • 9-Night Mediterranean with Greek Isles 6/22
  • 12-Night Mediterranean with Greek Isles 7/1


Adventures by Disney Cruise Packages

  • 6/13 9-Night Mediterranean Adventures by Disney Cruise Package
  • 6/22 9-Night Mediterranean Adventures by Disney Cruise Package
  • 7/1 12-Night Mediterranean Adventures by Disney Cruise Package